supposedly we have as much as $60M per year to spend starting next year. that's what getting bad contracts off the books will do for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by msstate7
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supposedly we have as much as $60M per year to spend starting next year. that's what getting bad contracts off the books will do for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by msstate7
Go get price and a LF. Pretty sure we'll need a catcher too. Hopefully Bethancourt gets the call soon so we can know for sure. Really wish he'd catch 80% of our games from here outQuote:
Originally Posted by BoomBoom
I don't see $60 million available unless we start increasing the payroll by a good bit in anticipation of the new stadium.
Assuming we do have that much, I'd prefer to spend about $40 million of it on 2 big pieces...not an ace but a good starter along the lines of Kazmir, then a legit bat (personally, I would love to trade for Nelson Cruz if we are really serious about contending in 2016 and 2017).
I would use the rest on decent pieces here and there.
2016 current obligations are $60M. that leaves $40-60M. a corner OF masher is a must. hard to say what else is a must, so i would break the bank getting the best OF on the market, if the right one is available. looks like that's Cespedes, Gordon, Upton and Heyward. meh. maybe wait on that till 2017, if that class looks stronger.Quote:
Originally Posted by smootness
the SP class does look strong, so maybe that is a viable path, as much as i'd rather get hitting than pitching.
Hey 7 are you blackout drunk? Your boy Chris Johnson just got traded for a prosthetic Swisher and a rubberized Bourn.
I think I'll get drunk now. I'm not sure how I feel about this trade. Glad to get rid of CJ. Not happy to see swisher or Bourn. Maybe one will resurrect their career.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawg61
I'm still watching every night, but it's getting hard. Please get here college football
This. I'm a die hard Braves fan but it's hard to continue to see guys like Shelby Miller get crapped on with no run support, or Freddie stay injured, or the bullpen continue to blow games. We knew this was going to be a charlie foxtrot this year but it seems like everything has gone straight to hell since Freddie got hurt. Team seemed to give up after that.Quote:
Originally Posted by msstate7
I don't understand this trade honestly. I mean I understand getting rid of CJ for money purposes but Swisher and Bourn have a lot on their contracts too. We got some cash considerations in this deal to offset some of the cost so my guess is this is just a temporary home for them for the remainder of the year.
I'd love to see our young starters (Perez, wisler, and folty) step it up down the stretch. They've been struggling lately. I'd feel a lot better if 2 them starting pitching well this last month.
I'm pulling for Garcia, eury, and Castro to finish strong also. I think they could be solid bench players for next season.
You're insane, I've pretty much quit watching. I'm indifferent about the trade. Basically, it was a bad contract swap. And with Nick Swisher we get Nick Swisher's wife, so I say win for the Braves. Plus the Indians are giving us $10M. The way I see it, we got rid of a clubhouse problem in CJ and added a chemistry guy or two. The trade doesn't really help either team on the field, so I don't really care about the "who won" aspect.Quote:
Originally Posted by msstate7
Is it just me, or does anyone else think we are still maybe in this thing a little bit? Lot of experience and leadership on this team now. AJ, Bourn, Swisher, Gomes, Freeman, Markakis, Shelby Miller. There's a lot of guys who have been there done that. If the pitching solidifies over the last month and a half and we continue to hit like we have (I believe we have 68 hits through 6 games of the 7 game home stand), we've got a chance at this thing. Guys are starting to hit consistently now. Markakis and AJ have hitting streaks in the teens, Garcia is heating up, hopefully Olivera joins the team in the next couple of weeks.
We've got 7 more each against the Nats and Mets and are only 8.5 out of the division. If our pitching can come together here I think we've got enough horses to at least make a game of it or ruin someone else's playoff chances. I kind of like this team right now and they are way more fun to watch than last year's team.
Still think we are a .500 team at best. But I will enjoy watching this team from here on out.Quote:
Originally Posted by MetEdDawg
11 of last 16 series are against winning teams. If FF and Olivera get back soon and catch fire, I think we could make a run at .500.Quote:
Originally Posted by MetEdDawg
.500, our young starters pitching well down the stretch, Olivera being a stud player, and Bethancourt looking like an mlb catcher in September are what I really wanna see. If the mets and nats have a September collapse that allows us to make a run that would be great, but it would take them both collapsing for us make the playoffs
The thing that impresses me the most is that as a losing team I think we got better in the last week. I hated seeing Wood go, but one thing we do have is starting pitching depth. And I'm with you, I want to see how well Perez, Wisler, Folty, and Banuelos do at the end. But I like what we've put together. I don't know what we can do with the contracts of Bourn and Swisher for next year, but if we can figure something out, I would like to keep one of them. Probably more Swisher than Bourn just because I like Swisher at a utility guy that can play 1st when Freeman is hurt/resting and a corner OF spot too. And right now I think Eury Perez and Bourn are close to the same player with Eury having a better arm.Quote:
Originally Posted by msstate7
We finished 4 games below .500 last year. If we can do better than that, I would be ecstatic about the future. If we can get an offseason bat, we are a contender next year. I still think we might make a run at Cespedes in the offseason. Not sure if there will be any other RH OF power bats next year but he's probably the best. Add him into a lineup with Markakis, Freeman, Olivera, hopefully Maybin, then you've got something. Then Teheran, Miller, Folty, Williams Perez, Banuelos, or Wisler, and that's a darn good looking rotation. Need some bullpen help but I like what we've got next year potentially.
I expect Bourn in cf next season and Maybin traded in the offseasonQuote:
Originally Posted by MetEdDawg
I sure hope not. I love what Maybin has done. He's a few years younger than Bourn, He's got a better arm, he covers more ground I think, and he just really loves being in Atlanta. I think we could get him for 2 or 3 years at 18-25 million and that would be a good buy for us.Quote:
Originally Posted by msstate7
Doubt the braves go after cespedes...he's known as a "not so great" clubhouse guy and one of the whole purposes of this rebuild was to clean house in that regard.
@mlbbowman
Bourn is not playing today, but there won't be a strict platoon in LF. Still a chance the Braves will trade Gomes.
....
Would love to move Gomes. Really no need to keep Gomes and swisher.
I doubt maybin is traded. Hart has said numerous times they love maybin on the field and in the clubhouse. He's a local guy that's performing well. Bourn is going to be mentoring mallex smith and playing Lf.
Chris Johnson 4-4 in Indians debut
If Bourn is gonna mentor Mallex, then wouldn't Mallex have to be on the team? Mallex won't be on team as long as Bourn and Maybin are on the team.Quote:
Originally Posted by trob115
I just have a hunch Maybin will be moved. Bourn has been the better defensive cf this year, yet we play Maybin in cf. I think that's to keep Maybin's value as high as possible.
Move Maybin, sign a LF, and play Bourn till Mallex is ready in cf. This is my guess.
Since you mentioned Bourn mentoring Mallex, I thought about those 2 and Bourn is a good comparison to Mallex. Really fast leadoff type that strikes out a bit more than you like
We will see, but I just don't see the Braves being a major player for any of the major free agents this year , pitchers included. I think next year's free agency is a lot stronger in bats and we could see a move then. If you move maybin, that leaves a gaping hole in the outfield and I don't see the Braves giving him up unless it's for an immediate can't miss top prospect.
Gonna be another interesting offseason. Fwiw, I like and wanna keep Maybin unless Mallex somehow wins the cf job in STQuote:
Originally Posted by trob115
Allard debut...
1.0 ip 0 h 0 bb 0 er 3 k
Not bad
Peraza debut with Dodgers at 2b...
1-4, 3b
Hope we don't regret this trade
Teheran seems to be back... Great sign.
Olivera and FF are both on assignments. Should see both in a week or so. I'm excited about seeing Olivera.
Still wanna see our young starters start pitching better. Perez had a nice start this week, but that's it lately. Hopefull they're bout to turn the corner.
Ready to see what we do with Garcia when Olivera comes up. I'd send him down and let him play 3b, 1b, and LF in AAA. If he can handle LF and 1b defensively, he could be a nice utility guy next season. Love his bat
Teheran looked great last night. He looked like he did back in 2013 and 2014 when he was an All Star. If he keeps pitching like that, he's clearly a #1 or #2 in the rotation.Quote:
Originally Posted by msstate7
Matt Wisler is at about 57 major league innings. Teams have film on him now, and he needs to adjust to what they are doing. He's a very young pitcher, so that process will not be an overnight thing. Tom Glavine and John Smoltz weren't HOF pitchers at 23.
Mike Foltynewicz is the guy I want to see progress the rest of the way. He has John Smoltz type stuff, and like a young Smoltz, command and emotions can get the best of him. Overall, I think he has the best stuff of anyone on the staff. With that said, he could figure in as a starter or back end of the bullpen guy going forward.
Alex Wood has a 5+ ERA since the trade. Jim Johnson's ERA is like 29 right now after the trade. Peraza's triple was a bloop single that Bryce Harper misplayed. It shouldn't be scored a triple, but that's the threat his speed gives you. He didn't have a position with the Braves though. The Braves felt he was very much sub par defensively at 2B. He's a good contact hitter whose speed is valuable, but Mallex Smith is an 80 speed guy who has better skill at getting on base. Behind him, Ozhaino Albies also has shown better awareness of the strike zone at the plate at a young age.Quote:
Originally Posted by msstate7
If Olivera plays the way the Braves scouts believe he will, the Braves will not regret this trade. Wood was the one I didn't want to lose, but I do wonder if there is some Tommy Hanson there with him in that his delivery may lead to arm problems at a young age.
Wood hasn't been great for the Dodgers, but it's way early. I think wood will pitch well down the stretch. If we're using small samples, Olivera hasn't got a hit at the lowest level of the minors yet. HahaQuote:
Originally Posted by KB21
I wasn't necessarily against trading wood and peraza. I just hope Olivera is worth them. His age and injury issues are a huge concern of mine
I've never heard peraza described as sub par defensively. He has always been described as above average at SS.Quote:
Originally Posted by KB21
If the plan was to trade peraza, we should've played him at ss in AAA. Maximize his trade valueQuote:
Originally Posted by BoomBoom
I understand folty is still somewhat young, but geez. Consider me not a fan and not very hopeful about his future. Heard someone call him the white Juan Jamie and I'm starting to agree
I think his future is in the bullpen, not the rotation. He's pretty good for 1-3 innings, but then he gets shelled. First and foremost he's gotta get the control issues fixed, but it seems like he might need to add a pitch.Quote:
Originally Posted by msstate7
He had a few really good starts early in the year in which he pitched efficiently and was in control through 7 innings or so. I agree that he's got work to do if he wants to stick in a rotation, but his potential is still too high to throw in the pen just yet. He's shown flashes, so I'd let him start next year, either in MLB or AAA, and see if he can fix some of his issues. Even if not, though, we probably have a really good setup man or potential closer.Quote:
Originally Posted by War Machine Dawg
the plan had been for him to take over at 2B, so that's where he was playing. he started playing SS again in a week or two before he was traded, and got some time in CF before that, both after Jace had taken over at 2B.Quote:
Originally Posted by msstate7
@mlbbowmanQuote:
Originally Posted by dawgs
Dating back to the Papelbon trade (July 28):
Phillies 9-9, 3.22 bullpen ERA, 7/7 save ops
Nationals 6-14, 5.03 bullpen ERA, 2/4 save ops
Braves down 9-0 to the Padres in the 8th. Melvin Upton Jr. has 2 homers and 5 RBIs. Fun times...
What we need to do is extend fredi again and trade Teheran and Mallex smith for another 30+ year old position player... Maybe Andre ethier**Quote:
Originally Posted by Beaver
@mlbbowman
The #Braves have now lost 17 of their past 19 road games. They have gone 9-7 at home during this same span.
We're starting 4-5 position players (AJ, Bourn, markakis, swisher, Garcia, Gomes) that are 30 or older with Maybin knocking on the door. You would think all these veterans would help us win some road games. We're just old and suck.
AJ continuing to catch everyday is a joke with Bethancourt absolutely slashing at AAA.
I have zero confidence that wisler, folty, or Perez will be a starter long term.
We traded away a young lh starter and a top 50 prospect for another old position player that struggles to stay healthy.
Saying I'm frustrated and doubting what hart is doing is an understatement. Please get here sept 3rd...
Neither of those three young pitchers have even started a full season. You would have pulled Cueto after his first year (4.81 era) if not sooner and put him in the pen. His second year you definitely would have made a change with him. They may not work out but it is extremely common for the first FULL season or TWO of starting (which none of these guys have done yet) to struggle.
Don't you think there is a very good reason Bethancourt is still in AAA? And what does his slash have to do with his troubles catching defensively. AJ hitting is fine so what bringing him up do for you? Showcase his MLB troubles again, including hitting possibly? Sept call ups are close and if we are looking at trading AJ soon then he needs to be hitting right now.
Bourne and Swisher?? you know what that deal was about. And with Fredi out who do you want playing 1st anyway?
We've already stated that AJ won't be traded. We want to extend him. Bethancourt has had 1 passed ball at Gwinnett.Quote:
Originally Posted by Really Clark?
I didn't say I was giving up on those 3 rookie pitchers. I said I have zero confidence they would stick as starters. We can't give up on them. I would demote one or move 1 to bullpen in favor of Jackson though. Jackson has pitched well this year and I'd like to see him get a shot at starting again.
Bethancourt was pulled early last night so hopefully he gets promoted today